Island



Jan. s, 1924.- y y 1,479,937 W F; A. STEVENS SPECTACLE TEMPLE Original Filed June' 22. 1921 In fanfare Patented Jan. 8g, 1924.

UNiTED STATESA PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK A. STEVENS, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO vSTEV ENS -AND COMPANY, INC., OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION OF RHODE ISLAND.

' YSPECTACLE TEMPLE.

original application ined June 22, 1921, -seriai No. `479,479. Divided and this application fusa .muy 1,

- i 1922.A serial No. 572,154.

To all whom it may conce/ML lBe it known thatfI, F Rnnnniok AmifrtmV STvnNs, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Providence, in the county of I Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Spectacle Temples, of Vwhich the following'is a specification. l A

This application isa division of a co- 10 pending application, Serial No. 479,479,

filed J une 22,1921. f a The present inventionA relates to spectacle temples of the combined-metal-and-nonn metallic type, and it has for its object to 16 provide anew and improved temple of the said type that shall be more efficient, more durable, neater and of simpler construction than any heretofore proposed.

Vith the above end infview, the inven- 20 tion consists of the improved spectacle temple hereinafterdescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawingsandl defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Fig. l is a view of a nonemetallic tube adapted to be combin-ed with a metal rod to form a temple; Fig. 2 is a section taken upon the line 2 2 of Figyl; Figs'. Sand lJashow, steps il- 3o lustrating a preferred method of manufacturing the temple of the presentvinvention; and Figs. 5 and 6 show two types of temples constructed according to the present invena tion, Fig. 5 showing the metal rod completelyy enclosed within the tube, except for they hinge member or end piece, and Fig. 6 showing the metal rod lpartly in and partly without the tube.

The undesirable .features of lspectacles constituted of` plain metal rods being well understood, many attempts have heretofore been'made to produce a more desirable and eflicient article. Some of these efforts have` been restricted to the use of metal parts 15 only. In other cases, the temples have been made of both metal and non-metallic parts. As an instance of this latter type of temple, a metal rod has been enclosed within a nonmetallic tube 'ofsuch' material as rubber; but after a very short period of use behind the ear, the perspiration and heat of the wearer begin to soften the rubber, causing it to wear away in anV unsightly manner,

arel seldom seen any rendering is mushy, and dirt-collecting, and 1n other respects becoming very annoying and uncomfortable. Rubber'tubes on temples have therefore never proved to be successful in practice. The use of Celluloid, Zylonite, and similar substances suggested itselfsomeyears ago, but prior to the present invention no satisfactory temple composed of such substance combined with metal had been invented, though many' kinds of temples had been proposed and tried. Temples'the forward portions of which were of metal and the rear portions of zylonite have been in limited use, forv eXamp e, but they n y v a more. l For one thing, there 1s constant breakage at the point of `junction between the metal and the zylonite;

and for another thing, the unreinforced zylonite can not hold its shape and therefore becomes very soon a source of annoyance. It has accordingly been proposed to benda zylonite sheet around a metal temple rod and to secure the zylonite to the metal by such expendients as pressure, heat, biting projecting parts and the like; but heat'perspiration soon cau-se the Azylonite sheet to open out again and the usefulness of the temple becomes impaired. Prior to the present invention, therefore, no really successful temple of the combined metaland-non-metallic type had been produced.y

According to the present invention, the metal rod is mounted in the bore of a seamless tube that is constituted of a non-metallic material having the property that, when exposed to air, it will shrink in a direction away from the air. Zylonite, Celluloid, etc., are such materials. No matter how fully cured these materials may be, they always shrink further in the manner described Vwhen exposed to the atmosphere. In order to avoid circumlocution of language, therefore, all such substances will hereinafter be referred to in the specification and the claims under the single term zylonite, though it will be understood that the term is here intended to include not zylonite alone, but all substances having the above-described property. The zylonite tube is prepared with a bore of suiiicient diameter to admit the metal rod, but preferably not too freely. Once the rod is in place in the bore of the tube, the air is therefore shut off from the the tube with the reinforcing rod therein bebeing bent to the shape of a temple, and the ing bent to the shape of a temple, and the temple being adapted to be hinged at the 10 temple being adapted to be hinged by means free end of the forward portion.

of the hinge member. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto 6. A spectacle temple having a forward subscribed my name this 27th day of June, portion and a rear portion and comprising e. 1922.

seamless zylonite tube and a, reinforcing rod l in the tube, the rear portion of the temple FREDERICK A. STEVENS. 

